A new flight from Manchester to Beijing will generate £250 million for the UK over the next decade, with two-thirds being felt in the northwest in terms of more jobs, economic activity and tourism, said the north of England airport.
The service will be launched on June 10 by Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines and will be the only flight to mainland China from the UK outside of London.
It is expected to carry 100,000 passengers a year between Manchester and Beijing.
At the same time, Manchester is developing a £130 million ‘China Cluster’ project within its new Airport City complex to provide a commercial base for Chinese businesses arriving in the UK.
Hainan said it was planning to launch services between the UK and other cities in China in the future.
